We must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists, and will persist. We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals so that security and liberty may prosper together.

So far, September trading has not confirmed our hypothesis about the fall season. We guessed US stocks would go down and gold would go up. So far, stocks have gone up and gold has gone down! If the markets were voting machines, we’d have to say that the early returns point to a victory for higher stock prices and cheaper gold. But over the long run, markets, as Ben Graham reminded us, are weighing machines. And that should worry over-bullish stock market investors.

The Dow rose 140 points yesterday. Our guess: Speculators are betting on the Fed’s announcement later this month. In light of bad employment numbers, they reckon the Fed is unlikely to begin seriously tapering off from its credit-pumping adventure. They’re probably right. The Fed has already gone too far. The economy depends on its ZIRP and QE.

Cometh the hour, cometh the man. Or the woman… Ben Bernanke is leaving the Fed at the end of the year. He must shuffle off to some post where he will do less damage. The leading candidates to replace him are committed to continuing his policies, which consist of providing as much credit rope as you need to hang yourself.

The Dow was flat yesterday. Gold dropped $17 an ounce. What to make of it? Our “Crash Alert” flag warns of a crash in US stocks. Readers are advised to proceed with caution. But since the start of September, the news for stocks has not been bad. If you want to buy stocks, the financial press and Wall Street can give you plenty of reasons to do so.